By Banana (age 10) Have you ever wondered what litter has done to the outdoors? Has anybody seen the outdoors how Mother Nature made it, with no litter infiltrating? No, probably not. The trash everyone has thrown into nature— all the straws, plastic bottles and caps, fast food items, candy wrappers, plastic bags, shoes people have given up on, and more—destroys the beauty of the outdoors, animal habitats, and even the lives of some of Earth’s creatures. Do you want to help solve this problem and see nature how it is supposed to be? You can start by using reusable containers and water bottles, throwing your trash in the trash can, and start cleaning up your environment. A few weeks ago I went for a walk along the beach shore at low tide, and there was so much litter. In just thirty minutes we completely stuffed two big trash bags and also had three big pieces of plastic that wouldn’t fit. Most of what we found was fast food items, plastic cups, lids, straws, and water bottles, and plastic bags. Did you know that there are about 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean killing sea life? (2) Every day 8 million pieces of plastic makes the way into the ocean. (3) In order to fix this problem, every person needs to take action. You can use reusable water bottles and pack your lunches in reusable containers. Say no to plastic silverware and straws and choose to wash your own dishes instead of using disposable plates. When you go to the store, bring a cloth bag. If you have to use plastic, try to reuse it instead of throwing it away after the first use. You could even write to your senators or representatives to pass laws about plastic use. Bangladesh was the first country to ban plastic bags in 2002. (4) Rwanda became the world’s first plastic free nation in 2009. (5) In the United States, we could be more like Bangladesh and Rwanda and help clean our beaches and save the animals, while bringing back Mother Nature’s beauty. Litter harms animals and the environment. Litter doesn’t only pollute the ocean and ground, but it also pollutes the air. Researchers estimate that more than 40% of the world’s litter is burned in the open air, which can release toxic chemicals, and that leads to health problems. (1) All the chemicals in the air can lead to toxic rain. Also animals can mistake litter for food and die when they eat it. Animals also can get stuck in litter and die. For example, some sea turtles get tangled in fishing nets or plastic six-pack soda holders, making it hard for them to reach food or even deforming their bodies as they grow. Animals suffer because of your trash. Someday karma will happen and it will rain acid on you, unless you decide to make a difference and not litter. n
Animals die because of your trash. There's litter everywhere and you don't want to see that do you? You can help to solve this problem. Start by using reusable water bottles, grocery bags, containers, and more reusable items. If you use plastic, try to reuse it. For two examples, if you get a plastic grocery bag, use that bag to pick up trash in your community. If you order take out, reuse those plastic containers to pack your lunches. And clean up the beaches and the outdoors. Try saving your environment; don't destroy it.
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Shout out to Blaze Pizza for making smarter decisions about what's in our food, how we treat each other, and how we protect this wonderful planet we all share
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